Yin Wuyu's Discovery, Soul Control Technique

Before long, Xu Qiuyan and the others returned.

"Boss!" The moment Yin Wuyu entered the room, he lunged at me, two streams of snot still hanging from his nose.

I quickly held him back. "Just stand there. Don't move."

"Okay." He obediently stood before me.

I looked at Xu Qiuyan. "You're really all right?"

Xu Qiuyan smiled. "What, were you hoping something had happened to us?"

"But I couldn't get through to you on the phone just now."

Xu Qiuyan took out her phone. "My phone's been on the whole time."

I glanced at Gu Song again. He looked rather dazed.

"Where did you go?"

Xu Qiuyan looked at Gu Song. "It was all because of him. He said he saw Xie Xiaotang and ran after her. I was afraid something might happen to him, so I took Mute with me and followed."

Gu Song grabbed my hand. "I really saw Xiao Tang, really! You have to believe me."

I asked Xu Qiuyan, "And then? What exactly happened?"

Xu Qiuyan pursed her lips. "I saw her too, but I wasn't sure whether she really was Xie Xiaotang. She looked quite similar to the photo. But she seemed unwilling to see Gu Song and ran very fast. Sister Hong already went after her."

Xie Xiaotang was indeed dead.

Yet Gu Song claimed to have seen her, and now even Xu Qiuyan said the person she had seen was likely her.

If it really was Xie Xiaotang, then what they saw was not a person.

"As for the calls you said you made, I really didn't receive any. Later, I was worried you'd come back and not find us, so I called you. How did things go on your end?"

Just as I was about to speak, Sister Hong suddenly appeared in the room. She was back.

"Did you catch her?" Xu Qiuyan asked.

Sister Hong shook her head. "No. After I chased her for a while, she vanished into thin air."

As Sister Hong spoke, her gaze turned toward me—or rather, toward the wooden box in my hand.

"May I see what's inside that box?" Sister Hong asked.

Without hesitation, I handed her the box. I trusted Xu Qiuyan, so naturally I trusted her as well.

Duan Hongbin, who was sitting to one side, said nothing, but he stared intently at Sister Hong.

Just as Sister Hong was about to take the box, Yin Wuyu suddenly snatched it away.

"Boss, is this a toy you bought for me?"

I was speechless. A strapping young man who looked seventeen or eighteen opening his mouth and asking about toys was really hard for me to accept.

Sister Hong's expression turned strange.

She snapped at Yin Wuyu, "Give it to me."

I frowned. Didn't she know Yin Wuyu had intellectual problems? Did she really need to get so angry at a child with the mind of an eight-year-old?

As she spoke, she reached out to snatch the box.

But Yin Wuyu hid it behind his back.

He pointed at Sister Hong. "I've seen this big sister before. She's not as pretty as in the photo."

Where had he seen Sister Hong's photo? He and Sister Hong should not have had much contact.

I asked him, "Mute, have you seen a photo of this big sister?"

"Mm-hm, it was hanging on the wall in his house."

But he was pointing at Gu Song.

How could there be a photo of Sister Hong hanging in Gu Song's house? For a moment, I was thoroughly confused.

Even Xu Qiuyan was stunned.

Duan Hongbin suddenly stood up and blocked Sister Hong's path.

"I thought there was something strange about you. So that's what this is."

At that moment, I realized it too. There really was a photo hanging in Gu Song's house, but it certainly was not Sister Hong's photo. It was Xie Xiaotang's.

"You're not Sister Hong. You're Xie Xiaotang!"

Sure enough, Sister Hong's appearance changed, becoming Xie Xiaotang.

Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes looked hollow.

Gu Song's eyes widened, joy appearing on his face. "Xiao Tang, it really is you, Xiao Tang!" He stepped forward to grab her, but Xie Xiaotang shoved him hard, sending him tumbling onto the sofa.

Her eyes never left the box. "Give it to me!"

Yin Wuyu kept both hands behind his back. "No! You're a bad person. You trick children out of their toys." As he spoke, he sniffled. The two streams of snot shrank back a little before flowing out again.

Xu Qiuyan's expression changed drastically. "Where's Sister Hong? What did you do to her?"

Xie Xiaotang ignored us completely, as though the box was the only thing in her eyes. I understood then that she was after the Twin Fish Jade Pendant.

I had long known that Xie Yi and the others spreading the news would bring me some trouble, but I had not expected it to come so quickly.

Now I understood as well. They clearly knew those thugs could never take the box from me, yet they had still arranged that scene because they had been waiting for me here.

First, they had Xie Xiaotang appear and lure Gu Song away. Then, while Sister Hong chased Xie Xiaotang, they found a way to trap Sister Hong. Even if they could not trap her, they only needed to delay her for a while. Then Xie Xiaotang would deceive us into handing over the Twin Fish Jade Pendant. The scheme was not particularly sophisticated, but it was enough to catch us off guard.

But they had overlooked one thing: Yin Wuyu could see through all illusions and disguises. Even though Xie Xiaotang was now a Ghost Body as well, Yin Wuyu could still see her true appearance.

Duan Hongbin reached out to grab Xie Xiaotang. Startled, she dodged to one side.

Gu Song could not see Duan Hongbin, but seeing Xie Xiaotang react like that, he stepped in front of her and glared at me. "What are you trying to do?"

I said, "Mr. Gu, we're trying to help her. If I'm not mistaken, she's been controlled by evil sorcery." But Gu Song would not listen. "I don't care. You can't hurt her."

I gave Duan Hongbin a look, and he stepped back.

Xu Qiuyan was worried about Sister Hong. She looked coldly at Xie Xiaotang. "Tell me, where is Sister Hong?"

A cold voice answered, "I'm here."

Sister Hong had appeared at some point and was standing behind Xie Xiaotang.

"Are you all right?" Xu Qiuyan asked with concern.

Sister Hong gave her a faint smile. "I'm fine."

It was the first time I had seen Sister Hong smile. It was completely at odds with her icy persona—no, it should have been ghostly persona. Perhaps she only showed this side of herself around Xu Qiuyan.

"I merely wanted to see what tricks they were trying to pull." After saying that, Sister Hong looked at the box and frowned. "There's a piece of jade inside?"

I was not at all surprised that she could see what was inside. She was a Ghost Body, after all. Those eyes of hers could probably see through anything.

"That's right. It's the Twin Fish Jade Pendant."

For once, a trace of greed appeared in Sister Hong's eyes. "It's a good thing. It can nourish the soul."

She was a Ghost Body, evolved from a Soul Body. Normally, she resided within Xu Qiuyan's jade bracelet. To her, a fine piece of jade was truly the best place to dwell, and it could also improve her Dao cultivation.

Xu Qiuyan was not surprised. She had already known I was going to retrieve this thing.

But Sister Hong quickly looked away. Since she knew it was the Twin Fish Jade Pendant, she probably no longer had any designs on it.

She looked at Xu Qiuyan. "You won't get anything out of her. She's only a puppet now."

Naturally, she was referring to Xie Xiaotang.

Xu Qiuyan asked softly, "Can you help her?"

Xu Qiuyan was kind-hearted. I knew she could not bear to see Gu Song like this, and she deeply sympathized with the feelings between Gu Song and Xie Xiaotang.

Sister Hong pursed her lips. "There is a way." She did not finish, instead shifting her gaze toward me.

I froze. I did not have that kind of ability.

But then her gaze moved past me and settled on Duan Hongbin.

I asked Duan Hongbin softly, "You have a way?"

"I can make her soul scatter and vanish," Duan Hongbin said flatly.

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm being serious."

"Do you know why that Sister Hong isn't taking action herself?" Duan Hongbin asked me.

I shook my head. I had assumed Sister Hong had no way to deal with it.

Duan Hongbin sighed. "I can only make her temporarily regain consciousness. I don't know how long it will last. Once she falls under their control again, I won't be able to suppress her anymore. And by then, she'll be far more destructive than she is now. Even Sister Hong will struggle to deal with her. At that point, there will truly be no other choice. We can only destroy her soul, and she won't be able to enter reincarnation."

Clearly, this was not the outcome Xu Qiuyan wanted. I doubted it was what Gu Song wanted either.

"She's a soul puppet now."

I curiously pressed Duan Hongbin, "What's a soul puppet?"

"A toy in an Onmyoji's hands. They can completely control ghosts through contracts or certain special methods. If Xie Xiaotang right now is compared to a robot, then what I can do is merely cause a temporary mechanical malfunction, allowing her to briefly break free of their control. But that malfunction can be fixed. They do not even need to appear in person; they can perform the spell secretly from afar. Of course, it is somewhat difficult, though it only takes time. How long depends on how skilled the Onmyoji controlling her is."